Monthly Archives: December 2011

Re-distributing inequality

Posted on 30 December, 2011 by Rick

Signs of what McKinsey called “The Great Rebalancing” are all around us. I smiled when I read about the messages of solidarity sent by Egyptians to the Occupy protesters in Europe and the USA. Time was when students in cold … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Shift | 2 Comments

Cluedo 2012

Posted on 23 December, 2011 by Rick

Austerity, it seems, means that more of us are staying at home this Christmas and making our own fun. According to the Telegraph’s Harry Wallop, sales of board games are up this year, and they are especially popular among 7 … Continue reading →

Posted in Light Relief | 4 Comments

Random solstice thoughts

Posted on 22 December, 2011 by Rick

Today is the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. To be more accurate, it was at 5.30 this morning, London time. That’s the point when the sun reached the Tropic of Capricorn, its furthest point away from us. Today is … Continue reading →

Posted in Shooting the Breeze, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Multi-million discrimination awards are rare but they still scare employers

Posted on 19 December, 2011 by Rick

A hospital doctor has been awarded a record £4.5m for sex and race discrimination by an employment tribunal. It is an enormous amount of money but, according to the tribunal report, the employer’s behaviour was enormously bad. So bad that … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Law | 4 Comments

Corporate hubris – and a bit of festive cheer

Posted on 16 December, 2011 by Rick

Last week, in the pub, a friend of mine was reflecting on her recent consultancy assignments. From the outside, all the companies she worked for seemed to epitomise corporate excellence, with their gleaming headquarters and slick public images. Yet, once … Continue reading →

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Posted in Executive Arrogance | 6 Comments

A 4 percent increase in self-employment. Oh dear!

Posted on 15 December, 2011 by Rick

Yesterday’s rise in unemployment took the total to a seventeen year high but the 128,000 rise over the last quarter hides something just as significant. Over the same period, the number of employees fell by 252,000. Much of the difference between … Continue reading →

Posted in Labour Market | 10 Comments

Cameron’s veto – why no applause from British business?

Posted on 14 December, 2011 by Rick

David Cameron claimed to be protecting British business and, especially, the City when he wielded his veto at the EU summit on Friday. You might, then, have expected him to return home to a rapturous welcome from bankers and business … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe | 2 Comments

Do Tory EU sceptics really want us to be more like Switzerland?

Posted on 13 December, 2011 by Rick

Something funny happened this weekend. Lots of right-ish Tories, some of them self-professed libertarians, started saying they wanted Britain to be more like Switzerland. David Cameron’s veto means that Britain can be more like Switzerland, cheered Tory MP Mark Reckless. … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Red Tape | 9 Comments

The EU – Britain’s options are limited

Posted on 8 December, 2011 by Rick

As David Cameron flies off to Brussels, promising to bring back powers from the EU (whatever that means) in return for his support for the Euro rescue, he will hopefully keep in mind just what is at stake here. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe | 23 Comments

Back to the 80s – the 1880s

Posted on 7 December, 2011 by Rick

Before the 1930s, the period from the early 1870s to the early 1890s was known as the Great Depression. My A-level history teacher insisted that it still should be, arguing that, although the drop in GDP was less spectacular than … Continue reading →

Posted in UK Economy | 4 Comments